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This blog reflects on soccer qua football all over the world. The blog has a specific investment in attractive, attacking football and, as such, focuses on Brazil, the most emphatic historical exponent of the beautiful game.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Brazil defeated Zambia 2-0 to secure their fourth
consecutive victory although the match illustrated that coach Luiz Felipe Scolari still has significant work
to do before the World Cup in order to build a championship winning team. In
the second half, substitute Oscar opened the scoring for Brazil with a sublime
curling strike, and Dede followed-up minutes later by heading in a Neymar
corner. Scolari had started with the attacking trio of Neymar, Pato and Lucas
Moura behind Ramires, but Pato, Moura and Ramires failed to impress such that
Brazil resorted to the familiar formation of Oscar, Neymar, Jo, Hulk in the second
half. Bench players Maxwell and Dede impressed in defense, with Maxwell, in particular, making a convincing a case as the first choice backup to Real Madrid's Marcelo. Up front, however, the first half failure of Ramires, Pato and Lucas Mouras to pose any kind of credible, sustained attacking threat means that Scolari still has thinking to do as he
considers backup alternatives to Oscar, Hulk and centre-forwards Jo and Fred.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Brazil marched to a decisive 2-0 victory against South Korea on Saturday thanks to goals by Neymar and Oscar. Confronted with a pacy, skilled
South Korean side playing at home in Seoul, Brazil struggled to break down the
South Korean defense in the opening stages despite owning the lion’s share of
possession. Luiz Felipe Scolari fielded his trademark 4-3-3 formation marked by
David Luiz and Dante in central defense, and first choice fullbacks Dani Alves
and Marcelo on the right and left wing, respectively. Dante started alongside
Luiz given the recent injury to captain Thiago Silva. With the exception of goalkeeper Jefferson, the rest of the Brazil squad
remained the same as the one used for the recent friendly against Portugal with Neymar, Jo and
Hulk leading the attack in front of Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho and Oscar. Scolari
substituted Ramires for Hulk in the second half as the Zenit striker lacked a
quality first touch on the ball and failed to find his rhythm.

Brazil attacked effectively in the first half with Marcelo
and Dani Alves roaming up and down the flanks in ways that recalled the
brilliance of Roberto Carlos and Cafu, from another generation. Neymar
challenged the Korean keeper with a long range, free kick on target in the 10th
minute and Hulk had a golden opportunity in the 14th minute when a pass from Jo
left him with the onrushing keeper to beat, although he failed to flick the
ball over Jung Sung-Ryong as required. Korea’s most promising opportunity came in
the 27th minute and immediately thereafter, when Lee Chung Young whipped in a
promising cross that David Luiz expertly cleared before either Jefferson or Ja
Cheol arrived at the ball. South Korea subsequently won two additional corners
that Luiz and Marcelo succeeded in clearing, leaving the match scoreless going
into the last 15 minutes of the first half.

After receiving some rough treatment on the left flank from
the Korean defense in the form of multiple harsh challenges, Neymar continued
to lead Brazil’s search for the go ahead goal by dropping deep into midfield
and orchestrating attacks that flowed through both sides of the field. The
Barcelona starlet was ultimately rewarded in the 44th minute when a
streaming run on goal resulted in a free kick that he deftly curled just inches
inside of the near post to make it 1-0 Brazil. Neymar's spectacular free kick goal illustrated how Brazil needed a dead ball
situation to break down a disciplined, speedy Korean team that had done well to
neutralize the attacking threat posed by the overlapping fullbacks.

The second half continued in much the same vein, with Brazil
attacking in waves and Korea responding on the counterattack, until a moment of
magic from Oscar made it a two goal game. A visionary pass from Paulinho sliced
open the center of the Korean defense, enabling Oscar to navigate around the keeper and score
with a powerfully struck left footed shot. Up two goals, Scolari brought on
Hernanes and Lucas Leiva for Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho, giving Leiva his first
Selecao appearance since 2011 under Mano Menezes. Brazil later substituted
Maxwell for Marcelo in an apparent attempt by Scolari to give his bench players valuable experience at the international level.

Korea delivered an admirable performance all around and
displayed their legendary physical fitness and persistence until the dying
minutes. Lucas Leiva and Hernanes found themselves preoccupied with defensive
duties until the close of the match, as did Maxwell, who assumed more of a
defensive role than his counterpart Marcelo. Once again, however, it was Neymar
who stole the show for Brazil alongside a heroic performance by David Luiz in
the captain’s armband. Luiz took command of the Brazil defense in the absence
of Thiago Silva and cleared the ball on many an occasion in which the Korean
attack opted for the aerial route into the box. Oscar, meanwhile, delivered one
of his most impressive, recent performances in the Brazil shirt such that fans
will be looking for the Neymar-Oscar chemistry to develop further as Brazil’s
preparations for the 2014 World Cup continue. Neymar has now scored a whopping 27 goals in 43 appearances for Brazil.

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Welcome!

This blog is dedicated to the magic, wonder and artistry of the beautiful game--football, soccer, call it what you will. More generally, it's a reflection on sport, art, creativity, freedom and the restoration of the spirit in all walks of life.